Tshinga Dube dismisses detractors

ZANU-PF Central Committee member and Makokoba parliamentary aspirant Tshinga Dube yesterday dismissed accusation from some detractors claiming that he was using Highlanders Football Club to campaign for the seat.

Dube will today present the bus to Highlanders FC at a rally to be addressed by Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

After winning the Mbada Diamonds Cup in 2013, Highlanders set aside $20,000 to buy the bus and Dube provided an additional $25,000 to get a luxurious coach.

Highlanders should have taken delivery of the coach in January but the club failed to raise $27,000 required to pay duty and efforts to get a tax waiver from the government failed.

This prompted Dube to come to the club's rescue and get the bus to be presented to Bosso this afternoon.

Some people have been making statements in the social media ever since Dube revealed that he would be presenting the bus to Bosso accusing the Retired Colonel of using Highlanders to drum up support ahead of the June 10 by-election.

However, Dube said yesterday that he has for many years come to the rescue of the Bulawayo giants and there was nothing amiss with his latest gesture.

"Those making such statements are just negative people who'll never do anything for Highlanders. I've assisted Highladers for many years and noone complained so why now?

"Highlanders owe me lots of money, I bought them Manwele Bar, I gave them $18,000 and they haven't paid back the money. Why hasn't anyone raised a finger?" said Dube who enjoys close relations with the owner of English Premier League team, Chelsea Football Club, Roman Abramovich.

"I've assisted Highlanders every time they've travelled. Where were they when I donated all those monies? Highlanders is our team and we should help it. People shouldn't be stopped from assisting the team because they belong to a certain political party. I've never hidden that I was Zanu-PF all the years I've assisted Highlanders it's only that people want to concentrate on negative things."

Dube said he would not stop assisting Highlanders because of a few detractors.

"Highlanders is one of the few things we're proud of here in Bulawayo so we've to support the team. I paid (former Highlanders coach) Eddie May when the team won four consecutive cups but no one said "Tshinga stop because you're Zanu-PF. My love for the team will never change," he said.

Dube said he was confident of winning the constituency saying all the groundwork had been done.

"I've big plans to develop Makokoba which has been in the same state for almost 70 years now. There are a number of projects that I want to initiate that would improve the livelihoods of the residents," he said.

Dube who brought to Zimbabwe the late Pop Icon Michael Jackson in the 90s, said he was not worried about other contenders as they were not visible in the campaigns.

"They're just participating for the sake of it, I'm not even worried about them. This is an opportunity for Bulawayo to get proper representation in the form of Zanu-PF so that the ruling party can implement its development programmes," he said.

"The MDC-T has had a stranglehold in the city but has done nothing for the people. They've only taken the city backwards. They've wasted people's time promising them lies."